Stille Nacht
by Enthusiastic Fish
Summary: Oneshot for the NFA Remembrance Day Challenge. Tim-centered. A recollection of the Christmas Truce during WWI.


**A/N**: Written for the NFA Remembrance Day Challenge. November 11th is Remembrance Day in some countries and Veterans' Day in the U.S. The story I wrote isn't about that day in particular, but it's about remembering the sacrifices made...and who the people are who fight in wars. It's a oneshot and Tim-centered, but only as a means of telling a story that is all the more wonderful because it's true. Some of the details may be a little off, but I hope the spirit of it remains.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own NCIS nor any part thereof. I am not doing this to make money (although it might be nice). DPB and those involved in the franchise are making money. I am not.

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**Stille Nacht  
**by Enthusiastic Fish

Tim sat alone in the bullpen. It was Christmas Day...and it was his turn to be at work. It happened to everyone. This was his turn, but he wasn't upset. Christmas night was an important night, and one he'd promised to remember. He smiled to himself as he thought back to a night when he was just a child...

_Tim snuck quietly through the cemetery, knowing he wasn't supposed to be in there after dark, but knowing, also, that it was faster to cut through rather than run around. He didn't particularly like walking next to all the graves. He wasn't scared of ghosts...not exactly, but it was almost oppressively silent as the snow fell gently from the sky, settling on the tombstones, on the barren trees. He hurried on his way, but about halfway through, he thought he saw someone, standing next to a grave. Through the night, he heard the soft sound of singing._

"_Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,  
__Alles schläft; einsam wacht  
__Nur das traute hochheilige Paar.  
__Holder Knabe im lockigen Haar,  
__Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!  
__Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!"_

_It was a carol he knew, but in a language he didn't. He was old enough to realize that some people didn't like to be disturbed but young enough to disregard that in favor of satisfying his curiosity. He turned off the path and walked over to a bent old man._

"_What were you singing?" he asked, softly._

_The man looked at him and smiled at the question. His voice had an strong accent. "Has the world become so corrupt that the young do not recognize the sacred carols?"_

"_It's Silent Night, but I don't know those words."_

"_That's because they are German...the language they were originally written in."_

"_Silent Night is German?"_

_The man smiled again. "Ja."_

_Tim grinned. "Why are you singing it here? There's no one around. It's dark...and snowing."_

"_Marking a special day."_

"_Christmas."_

"_More than Christmas, child."_

"_What else?"_

"_The Christmas Truce."_

"_What's that?"_

"_Did you not learn it in school?"_

_Tim shook his head. "No. Never."_

"_Are you sure you were paying attention?"_

_Tim drew himself up. "I'm smart. I pay attention."_

"_Very well. It is only the education system that is lacking, not your intelligence."_

"_What is it?" Tim repeated, eagerly. Then, he thought that perhaps the man didn't want to talk about it. People were like that sometimes. "I'm sorry. I'm being rude."_

"_No, you're not. I am happy to tell you. Someone should remember this night because it is important."_

"_I'll remember if you tell me."_

"_It was in 1914."_

"_1914?!" Tim was amazed. Could someone _be_ that old?_

"_Yes." The man's eyes twinkled. "On Christmas Day. We had been fighting like we did every day, long days full of gunfire and shells going off all around."_

"_World War I?"_

"_Yes. Before your country got involved."_

"_Not until 1917."_

_The man chuckled. "I guess all hope is not lost."_

"_So...what happened?"_

"_On Christmas Day, both sides stopped fighting."_

"_Why?"_

"_Because it was Christmas. It was a day of peace for both sides. Well, we Germans..."_

"_You're a German? You don't seem bad."_

"_Good and bad were hard to decipher on the battlefield. It was all about staying alive. Remember, child, that things are not always about good and bad. Good people can fight on the wrong side. Bad people can fight on the right side." He paused and looked around the silent graveyard. "We Germans decided to show those lousy Frenchies and Brits what Christmas was all about. We put up trees and decorated them...and then...we got out of our trenches and lit the candles on our trees, singing 'Stille Nacht' all the while."_

"_Didn't they shoot at you? They were your enemies!"_

"_No, although some of us were afraid they might. It was a perfect opportunity for them, but these were young boys who were away from home, from their families on Christmas...and it was lonely for them. They got out of their trenches. They walked across the battlefield, across No Man's Land, and they began to sing 'Silent Night' and 'Douce Nuit' and we talked to each other."_

"_You talked to the enemy?"_

"_They weren't the enemy that day. That day, we were all Christians, away from our homes, celebrating Christmas together. It only lasted a day and we went back to fighting."_

"_You didn't stop fighting after you got to know each other?"_

"_Soldiers don't end wars. Governments do. I had to go back to shooting across the battlefield and I watched my friends die on both sides...but I never forgot that day. I never forgot that it was possible to be together like that. I stayed in Germany until the Second World War. I had begun to question what was right. I came here with my family. We were not always welcome, but we stayed."_

"_Don't you miss Germany?"_

"_Yes. That is why I still sing 'Stille Nacht'...and to remember."_

"_Could I help you remember? Can I remember with you?" Tim asked. This history was so much more interesting than the history he got in school._

"_Yes. I come here every Christmas night and I sing. This is my wife's grave, but I sing for everyone in the war."_

"_I'll learn all the German words. I promise, and I'll come next year."_

"_I'll watch for you."_

Tim smiled as he remembered how carefully he had studied the German words, not telling his parents why, just intently trying to figure out the pronunciation, not wanting to disappoint the old man, whose name he had not asked for. ...but when he'd gone to the cemetery the next Christmas, no one was there...and the grave had another name on it. Tim had cried, even though he had known the man for five minutes. He had cried and then thrown back his shoulders and sung "Stille Nacht". He did it every year, finding a quiet place to sing the words. He always sang them aloud, but he wasn't a spectacular singer and he didn't like having an audience. Now, sitting alone in NCIS (Gibbs and Ziva were on call, but Abby, Ducky and Tony had specifically requested days off), Tim leaned back in his chair and looked out the window. Snow was starting to fall.

An hour later, Tim took the elevator down and then walked out to the docks. He looked at the USS Barry. That was appropriate. Then, standing tall, remembering the bent old man and his story, Tim began to sing the words he still remembered.

"_Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,  
__Alles schläft; einsam wacht  
__Nur das traute hochheilige Paar.  
__Holder Knabe im lockigen Haar,  
__Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!  
__Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!"_

He sang all the verses, and when he finished, he thought that maybe the old man had heard him. For a moment, he could see, in his mind's eye, the soldiers climbing out of their trenches, shaking hands, singing together.

It was easy to remember all the battles, but it was more important to remember those rare moments of peace. Tim smiled up into the snowflakes and then, walked away, remembering that Christmas night.

**FINIS!**


End file.
